Huge yellow diamond fetches record price at auction

GENEVA Nov 15 (Reuters) - A huge yellow diamond known
as the "Sun-Drop Diamond" sold for 11.28 million Swiss francs or
$12.36 million, a world record for a yellow diamond, at auction
on Tuesday night, Sotheby's said.

The diamond, the world's largest pear-shaped fancy vivid
yellow weighing 110.03 carats, was the top lot at Sotheby's
semi-annual jewellery sale in Geneva.

The stone was discovered in South Africa last year and cut
and polished by New York-based Cora International which put it
up for sale, the auction house said in its catalogue.

It had a pre-sale estimate of $11-15 million. The hammer
price includes the commission paid by the owner, who Sotheby's
auctioneer David Bennett said was a private individual who
wished to remain anonymous.

"It sold for a record for a yellow diamond ... It was
exactly within our expectation for this spectacular stone,"
Bennett told reporters after the sale.